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Jodi Grant, a Bethesda mother, was hit by a car on Massachusetts Avenue on Friday. She is recovering from a fractured neck and back. Police are still searching for the driver. (Published Monday, Aug. 27, 2012)

A Bethesda, Md., mother is reluctant to even see her friends because her injuries from a hit-and-run are so bad.

Jodi Grant was riding her bike Friday morning when a driver struck her on Massachusetts Avenue and left her bleeding and unconscious on the road. She doesn’t remember much more than the fleeting moments before impact when a minivan swerved into her path.

“I remember just think, ‘Oh, no,’ because it happened so fast,” she said.

She awoke in an ambulance. She suffered facial fractures, and her teeth had to be realigned. She also suffered fractures to her back and neck.

According to witnesses, the driver stopped briefly and drove away.

“It’s really sad and hard to explain to my friends, to my two little girls how someone could leave their mom bleeding, unconscious in the street,” Grant said.

But others did stop to help.

“I’m very grateful to the witnesses that called the police, that got me help,” she said. “I know that’s really instrumental, because I was out for a while.”

An avid cyclist, Grant regularly rides that stretch of Massachusetts Avenue as part of a 20-mile loop between her home and Great Falls.

“There are aggressive drivers that purposely get too close to cyclists, and I see that a lot on McArthur Boulevard in particular, but I think the biggest danger to cyclists and to walkers is the people that just aren’t even paying attention, and I think in this case, who knows what was going on?” she said.

When she completes her recovery, Grant isn’t sure if she’ll return to cycling.

“I love cycling,” she said. “It’s something I picked up a few years ago, but the idea that in the flash of a second my whole life can change that quickly is really terrifying.”

The best vehicle description witnesses could give was a dark blue, late model minivan with damage on the driver’s side.

Montgomery County police are investigating. Anyone with information about the incident should call police.